The EPA says the fire that resulted from the explosion at Smitty’s Supply in Roseland is now 98% contained. The Department of Environmental Quality has been continuously monitoring air quality ever since the explosion happened Friday afternoon. Governor Landry told a news conference yesterday afternoon that had it not been for Mother Nature, the surrounding area would never have been covered in soot.
“That rainstorm, basically coming over that plume of smoke, brought all the particulates that were in the air to the ground. That doesn’t mean that what landed on the ground was utterly toxic,” Landry said.
Governor Landry says people in the affected area should have nothing to worry about at this time.
“From what I’ve been told, from what I can see, there really is no imminent danger to any life or property other than we have to clean up a big mess,” Landry said.
Smitty’s Supply employed about 450 people at the time of Friday’s explosion; and with their plant now destroyed, they’re now out of work. Tangipahoa Parish President Robby Miller says the state is making resources available to them.
“The mobile unit from Louisiana Workforce in Hammond, for those individuals at work at Smitty’s that are unsure where they are, could go there and start finding out what services are available to them,” Miller said.
